Taster’s Review:

I am sure you’ve heard me declare this before, but, I love Earl Grey tea.  There is justsomething about the bergamot orange that makes it just seem to be made for flavoring the tea leaf.

This is an excellent variety of Earl Grey from the Village Tea Company.  Having not tried any of their teas before, I must say that I was rather excited to receive one of their nifty little “teaser” packages – a small cardboard cylinder “tin” that is just about the same size as a lipstick tube.

This packaging is quite impressive – I mean, really, how clever!  This little tube fits comfortably in a pocket, purse or briefcase, giving a whole new level of portability to tea time!   This is something that can easily be stashed in the desk drawer at work, or into a suitcase so that you can travel with your favorite teas rather than having to settle for the lackluster hotel “courtesy” teabags.  All this convenience, the tea stays fresh and dry… and these portable tubes are eco-friendly!  What more can you ask from tea containment?

Here’s more about the teaser packaging from The Village Tea Company’s website:

Travel Sized Tea to Go!

Our Simply Early Grey Teaser is our best blend of Indian black teas with bergamot orange essence packaged for a convenient sampling experience or for Village Tea on-the-go.

My gushing over the cool packaging of the Village Tea Company’s teasers aside, I am really enjoying this cup of Simply Earl Grey!  The bergamot flavor here is a bit lighter than many Earl Grey teas that I’ve encountered – and although I really like a strong bergamot aroma and flavor – I must admit that there is a very pleasing balance between tea flavor and bergamot taste here.

The black tea base is mellow and smooth – I certainly wouldn’t categorize it as robust.  This is not a tea that I would consider a breakfast or morning tea because it doesn’t have that verve that I look for in a morning tea.  However, this IS a truly excellent afternoon tea and would make a perfect choice to serve to guests.  There is no bitterness to the black tea and only a light astringency to it.  It is just … rather simply … a delicious, medium-bodied black tea base.

The bergamot follows suit by being a softer, smoother bergamot.  This is not the perfume-y tasting Earl Grey that you might remember when drinking tea at your great-aunt’s house when you were younger.  It has a deliciously juicy, citrus taste to it with hints of the signature “floral” taste that I so often attribute to Earl Grey teas.  But – please note – that these are only hints of those floral notes.  The bergamot here is very light and refreshing.

This really is “Simply” Earl Grey… and, simply delicious.

My favorite out of the teas was Sweet Grace Vanilla Rooibos, a fragrant bit of heaven. The vanilla is perfect with the rooibos and perfect for any time of day. I added a bit of cream and sugar and it was divine. The full size teas come with 50 filter bags to craft you own tea bag. Perfect when I want my drink to be bit ‘heavy’. The mobile teapot is fantastic for on the go. I haven’t quite got the the loose tea and filter part right, though. I think I suppose to heat the water, put the loose tea in and then strain it through, I think. Its safe to say, I’m not Go-Go-Gadget Jamie! lol!

Strawberry Passion Tea from Village Tea Company

Tea Type: White Tea

Where To Buy: Village Tea Company

Product Description:

Ingredients: Chinese white tea, flavor, strawberry pieces

Health Benefits: antioxidant rich, heart health support, immune system support, cold and flu fighter

There’s a real passion in our Strawberry Passion White Tea.  It’s also a Village Tea Company favorite and tastes great cold.  Rich and intense, this white tea marries full leaf-and-bud Chinese Bai Mu Dan (white tea) with flavorful and fragrant strawberries to enhance the naturally mild sweetness of white tea. Our Strawberry Seduction White Tea is a sultry way to wind down a long day or to get one started. Indulge yourself with this decadent white tea.

Tasters Review:

I’ve had great luck with the offerings from Village Tea Company and here is another one.  It’s called Strawberry Passion and it’s a White Tea and it’s darling!

This is a gentle yet flavorful strawberry flavored white tea.  It’s very good both hot and cold. It’s smooth but fruity and fun and thankfully NOT sour or tarty or puckery.  The perfect flavored white tea to escape from everyday hustle and bustle.

I received the Mobile teapot and a lemon ginger green tea fromVillage Tea Company to review. Ya’ll may remember I worked with them awhile back and my mom still loves her tea from them just as much. Thanks to this company from the beginning is the reason my mom tried herbal teas like green tea and some of the others, which is way more healthier and she needs it anyways. She had a teapot for the house but she is on the go alot when she goes down and spends time and sees if she can help out the landlord during the weekends so this mobile teapot really came in handy. Ma said its so simple to use just put your tea in the bottom part add water let it sit while she gets ready feeds the animals and all that good stuff so by the time she leaves its perfect so she takes it with her and through out the day instead of drinking sugary sodas, or black or orange tea which is loaded with caffeine and all she pulls out her organic tea in the mobile teapot pours herself a glass and it sifts right through so no tea leaves in her glass. This was a great idea my mom said because she remembers when you had to fish your tea leaves out of your tea just to drink it where with this you get the great flavor with no leaves or mess to cleanup. My mom said the tea she received was ok but she liked some of the other teas she still has from before from this company better, and plans to buy more in the future when she needs it from Village Tea Company, I definitely recommend this company.

One of the things my bff Jessica and I love to do when we get together is tea drinking (it is actually considered an art and a common activity in Taiwan). We love trying new teas together (either at tea houses or at our homes). As such, when I received my package of teas from Village Tea Company, I had to try them with her.

Jessica is teaching Chinese at the local college, but she has more free time than the normal school year, so we have been able to get together to try tea more often too . We were able to try Smooth Jasmine tea, Ginger Orange and Ginseng tea and Cherry Me Bloom tea.

After trying all three teas, we thought they were great, but our favorite was the Cherry Me Bloom tea — seriously yummy! After a nice meal, we tried the tea with a nice berry pie and it was simply delicious. The tea was smooth (not bitter) with a sweet aroma. There are not many things as great as hanging out with with my best friend over a nice cup of tea that both of us enjoy.

We are very happy with the teas I received to review. I will be buying more tea from the Village Tea Company to try for sure. To buy your own teas, please go to Village Tea Company. If you buy 3 teas, you get 1 Mobile Teapot for free plus free S&H. What a great deal!

Many thanks to Village Tea Company. The company has generously offered 1 Mobile Teapot as well as one tea of winner’s choice as giveaway prizes to one of my lucky readers (US residents only please).

Village Tea sent me some of the coolest things! I have wanted one of these mobile teapots forever and when I got one in the mail, I was so excited.  I tried the cherry me bloom rooibos and did not really like it but tried the sassy green tea with acai and loved it! It is light enough flavored that it is not too overwhelming and has 1/15th the caffeine of coffee.  You put the loose tea leaves in the bottom of the cup with the hot water and when you drink it, the leaves are strained out.  The tea somehow does not get bitter which is a huge plus!  I love this mobile teapot though and will be using it daily. I love the look of it! So modern.

Bachelorette party recipe of the season: Just in time for the holidays, here is a great bachelorette party recipe given to us by the famous DJ Chef:

DJ CHEF’ S APPLE-HONEY GLAZED CHICKEN

With Butternut Squash infused with White Tea

Pre-prep:
Marinate chicken in steeped Village Tea Company Classic White Tea in a zip lock bag (enough tea to cover chicken)

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breast, cubed bite size
1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 small Granny Smith Apple, diced, skin on!

½ cup of Butternut Squash, peeled, cubed & par boiled

¼ cup Onions, diced

¼ cup of Village Tea Company Classic White Tea (steeped amount)

1 Tablespoon Apple Cider

¾ Cup of Apple Cider
½ Cup of low sodium Chicken broth
¼ Cup of Honey
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 Tablespoons of unsalted Butter
Juice of 2 Lemons
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Procedure:
Heat a sauté pan on medium flame. Add canola oil. Sauté Chicken & onions until chicken is lightly browned. Add the Apples & Squash & Sauté for 1 minute. Add the white tea & vinegar and deglaze the pan. Add the Apple cider & chicken broth & reduce for 4 minutes. Finish the sauce by stirring in butter, honey & cayenne & squeeze in the lemon juice! Add Salt & pepper to taste.

Presentation:
Serve over wild rice & a glass of bold red wine.

Village Tea Co. is offering a 20% off their Gentle Organic Lemon Ginger Green Tea to followers of this little Tea-Guy blog. You should go support them!

In order to get the discount, you must enter the following code: vtcteaguy10

This discount was presumably sparked by my review of this tea last week. Apparently I can save you money! Who Knew!

Tags: #tea #discounts

This light organic Chinese Guo Lu green tea from Village Tea Co. is blended with light but complementary ginger root, lemongrass and lemon myrtle to provide a relaxing infusion.

One thing anyone who’s ever eaten sushi with me knows… I hate ginger. Somehow it tastes like dish soap to me and I can never get passed it. I only use it in the most extreme of wasabi circumstances!

This certified organic green tea has a Chinese Guo Lu base and is blended with ginger, so you wouldn’t guess that I like it. But I do.

It could be the addition of the lemongrass or maybe the lemon mytle… or maybe I just like lemon flavored soap… who knows. But it works!

At roughly $4 an ounce this tea is not overly expensive. Village Tea Co.’s unique packaging has the loose material separated into two larger bags in the canister and they’re kind enough to include a number of disposable tea bags for easy clean-up if you don’t happen to have an infuser handy.

The loose mixture looks like a combination of grass clippings, chives, and diced ginger. It’s actually ratherneat to look at. The aroma is strong enough to smell as soon as you open the package, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s at just the right level for appreciation.

The lemon pucker in the flavor comes through nicely but is subdued by the ginger in a perfectly harmonious composition I have to commend Martin of Village Tea Co. for putting together.

The liquor comes out a nice honeyed yellow-orange and only minimal sediment seems to appear. Quite nice for a tisane of this kind.

I would recommend this as a daily tea for those like Japanese bancha, gunpowder greens, or Yerba Mate’.

So… I’m obsessed. I had just returned from our tea expo adventures in Vegas to a room full of people watching Laker game #5 and I was more interested in what was in my bag than what was on the screen. I mean, come on, it was like Halloween for a tea lover; open up your bag and say treat!

This was the first tea I tried the next morning. I knew I should have been reading and writing but I could not help it. I reached in and grabbed

Village Tea’s Strawberry Passion White Tea.

Like most white teas (and teas in general), the smell is more fragrant and strong than the actual tea so if you ever come to sniffing around a sample, don’t set your standards too high. It’s light and satisfying, with soft, fruity undertones and delivers the characteristics of what every loose leaf should deliver: Fresh, crisp, and clean.
It’s a Chinese Bai Mu Dan, also known as White Peony.

Calling all tea lovers! I don’t need to tell you that there’s nothing more relaxing than a cup of hot tea and a book, right? We, at Celebrity Baby Scoop, recently had the opportunity to enjoy two very yummy loose leaf teas; Ginger, Orange & Ginseng Oolong and Sweet Grace Vanilla Rooibos, both from the Village Tea Co.

The Sweet Vanilla Grace features the SouthAfrican rooibos flavor, is caffeine-free (perfect for someone with insomnia but still likes to have a cup of tee at bedtime, like me) and is anti-oxidant rich (I need all the anti-oxidants I can get). The Oolong tea is a duo of ginseng oolong and ginger orange oolong flavors (think fruit, floral and chocolate), and aids digestion support.

Village Tea Co. features 10 different varieties of tea, including black, green, oolong, rooibos and white, each offering different ways to contribute to your health and well-being. Other flavors such as Cherry Bloom, Strawberry Passion, and Organic Lemon Ginger sound equally tasty. Each tea is packed in 100% recycled and recyclable packaging that includes 3 cotton muslin bags for brewing for friends or just brewing for yourself.

As it turns out, there are a number of tea drinkers in Hollywood too. The Village Tea Co has quite a celeb mom following! Kourtney Kardashian loved the decaf flavors, Cherry Me Bloom Rooibos with Acai & Sweet Grace Vanilla Rooibos, during her Pregnancy and Jillian Barberie was really excited to have these teas served and presented in the giftbags of her babyshower! Add to that list: Rachel Griffiths, Kelly Rutherford, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kimora Lee Simmons, Ana Ortiz &Mira Sorvino, all Village Tea Co. sippers!